The present invention relates to vacuum cleaners. More particularly, the present invention relates to a new floor nozzle for a vacuum cleaner. Even more particularly, the invention relates to a floor nozzle with separate heads that rotate.
Stick vacuum cleaners are known in the art. These vacuum cleaners are typically more lightweight than traditional upright cleaners and lack the driven brush rolls of traditional upright cleaners. The lighter weight and lack of a driven brush roll allows these cleaners to be more easily manipulated by a user on different surfaces and/or a wider variety of surfaces than traditional upright cleaners.
For example, stick vacuum cleaners are often used on non-carpeted floor surfaces where a driven brush roll may damage the floor surface. A stick vacuum cleaner is also often used for surfaces with hard-to-reach areas or elevated surfaces. The lighter weight and more compact design of a stick vacuum compared to a traditional upright vacuum leads to greater maneuverability and ease of lifting.
Stick vacuum cleaners typically operate by drawing in dirt-laden air via suction that is created by a motor driving a fan or impeller. The dirt-laden air is drawn into the unit through a nozzle and passes through a dirt collection device such as a cup. After the air passes through the dirt collection device it is typically drawn through a filter. Examples of these types of cleaners are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,146,434 issued to Scalfani et al. (the ""434 patent) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,567 to Ferrari et al. (the ""567 patent).
Prior art versions of stick-type vacuum cleaners have several disadvantages. One of these disadvantages is a lack of adequate suction effective for removing dirt from the floor surface. Also, there is inadequate removal of dirt from the air stream, resulting from dirt having to fall against at least part of the force of the air flow, as air is pulled generally upward through the dirt collection unit. This lack of effective cleaning air flow reduces the ability of the stick-type vacuum cleaner to remove dirt and dust from the dirt-laden air.
Another disadvantage of the prior art stick vacuums is the difficulty in removing the dirt collection device. The design of these vacuums does not allow for easy, clean removal of the device. The inventions of the prior art, such as the vacuum shown in the ""434 patent, result in difficult or awkward removal of the dirt collection unit, creating extra effort and jarring motions by the user which spill the dirt collected by the vacuum when the dirt collection device is emptied.
Yet another disadvantage of the prior art cleaners, as exemplified by the inventions disclosed in the ""434 and ""567 patents, is a wide floor nozzle. Such wide nozzles allow an open surface area to be cleaned rapidly, but when a user attempts to clean a floor surface that is confined, such as a corner space or an area near a large object, the large nozzles cannot be manipulated to thoroughly clean the surface. This prevents the floor nozzle from effectively cleaning the confined area and forces the user to use an aptly-named crevice tool instead.
Accordingly, it is desirable to develop a new stick vacuum cleaner which would overcome the foregoing difficulties and others by providing improved air flow, better mounting of the dirt collection device and a floor nozzle which can clean confined areas easily yet still clean large open areas rapidly.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a floor nozzle for a vacuum cleaner is provided. The floor nozzle includes a central housing. A left nozzle head is movably secured to the central housing. A right nozzle head is movably secured to the central housing, wherein a portion of the left nozzle head and a portion of the right nozzle head extend into the central housing and move around a vertical axis passing through the central housing.
In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a floor nozzle for a vacuum cleaner is provided. The floor nozzle includes a central housing. A left nozzle head is rotatably secured to the central housing and a right nozzle head is rotatably secured to the central housing. A dirt path extends through the central housing and communicates with the left and right nozzle heads. A biasing member urges the left and right nozzle heads into one end position in relation to the central housing.
In yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a floor nozzle for a vacuum cleaner is provided. The floor nozzle includes a base plate and a top cover that is connected to the base plate. A left nozzle head includes at least one central dirt path ring, wherein the at least one left nozzle central dirt path ring is rotatably secured between the base plate and the top cover. A right nozzle head includes at least one central dirt path ring, wherein the at least one right nozzle central dirt path ring is rotatably secured between the base plate and the top cover. The at least one left nozzle central dirt path ring and the at least one right nozzle central dirt path ring are vertically aligned and define a central dirt path.
In still another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a vacuum cleaner is provided. The vacuum cleaner includes a nozzle head that has a first section and a second section. The second section is pivotable around a vertical axis in relation to the first section. A housing is connected to the nozzle head and the housing defines at least one chamber and at least one cavity. A motor assembly is disposed in the at least one chamber and a filter assembly is disposed in the at least one cavity.